UW Ascends to Highest Level of Research Universities

The University of Wyoming has reached the highest level of American research universities, reflecting the university’s broad impact and evolution into a world-class hub for research, innovation, entrepreneurship and public scholarship.

 

UW is one of 187 institutions nationwide designated as an R1 university by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Today’s (Thursday) announcement puts UW in the top tier of U.S. research universities, as just 4.8 percent of the nation’s nearly 4,000 accredited, degree-granting institutions have reached this “very high research activity” category.

 

“Achieving Carnegie R1 status increases the value of a UW degree; serves as an impressive recruiting tool for faculty, staff and students; enhances our ability to boost the state’s economy; enriches the student experience through research opportunities; and builds on the already extraordinary sense of pride among members of the UW community,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “Getting to this point has taken years of effort. I’m delighted we have achieved this milestone, and we will keep working hard to enhance our value to students and the state of Wyoming.”

 

Through strategic investments in the last few years, such as the formation of the UW Graduate School and new programs to support research, UW has been supporting faculty members and students to foster its research enterprise. The university now stands at $166 million annually in research expenditures, an increase of 78 percent since 2021, ranking UW 42nd among the 318 public universities without a medical school.

 

Additionally, Carnegie R1 status is a measure of a university’s scholarly production. UW regularly produces close to 100 Ph.D. graduates each year.

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